This Food Network Baking Show Deserves A Revival

By Selena Singh-Russell
A baker putting together a baked pastry in a display case. Abraham Gonzalez Fernandez/Getty Images

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The 2000s were an impressive time for TV shows, but there's one Food Network show in particular that we miss. You may recall "Ace of Cakes," which first aired in 2006. It was hosted by Duff Goldman, who you may have also seen on "Holiday Baking Championship." The show followed Goldman and his team out of his Baltimore cake shop, Charm City Cakes. Interestingly, the creative passion that led Goldman to launch Charm City Cakes was graffiti. Each week, he and his team fulfilled over-the-top cake orders, and their cakes were truly fantastic and unique.

During the 10 seasons of the show, Goldman and his team created a giant R2-D2 robot cake, a seven-tiered Dr. Seuss cake, and life-sized animal replica cakes. They were out of this world and highlighted the talent of Goldman and his team of designers and bakers. The team was technical but Goldman managed to make the process approachable through his tips (we love his simple tip for legible cake writing, for example). Unfortunately, "Ace of Cakes" came to an end in 2011, leaving many fans in despair.

Why Ace of Cakes was cancelled

Duff Goldman interacting with an audience Sterling Munksgard/Shutterstock

After a good six-year run, "Ace of Cakes" was cancelled, likely because it had simply ran its course. After all, producing over 100 episodes in that short time span is quite the feat. There are only so many elaborate cake designs one can do until they become redundant. In addition, bakeries and other TV shows (such as "Cake Boss," which you also don't hear much about anymore) were starting to copy the method of making elaborate creations to impress customers.

The end of "Ace of Cakes" was not the end of Duff Goldman, who went on to write "Duff Bakes," "Ace of Cakes: Inside the World of Charm City Cakes," and a cookbook for kids, "Super Good Baking For Kids" (which received a cookie-themed follow-up in 2022). He also created Duff's Cakemix, a DIY baking studio in Los Angeles. That closed down in 2023, but you can still find plenty of Duff Goldman's shows on various streaming platforms.